Software Engineering Manager

Company Description

A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact. 
As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What We Offer:
•    Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
•    Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
•    Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
•    Benefits - We care about your well-being.
 

The Office of Innovation & Technology (OIT) is the central IT agency for the City of Philadelphia headed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO). OIT oversees all major information and communications technology initiatives for the City of Philadelphia - increasing the effectiveness of the information technology infrastructure, where the services provided are advanced, optimized, and responsive to the needs of the City of Philadelphia’s businesses, residents, and visitors. OIT responsibilities include: identifying the most effective approach for implementing new information technology directions throughout city government; improving the value of the city’s technology assets and the return on the city’s technology investments; ensuring data security continuity; planning for continuing operations in the event of disruption of information technology or communications services; and supporting accountable, efficient and effective government across every city department, board, commission and agency.

Job Description

The Software Engineering Manager manages and oversees the design and development of software applications. They direct the work of a small team of engineers to ensure best practices around software development. This role reports to the Director of Software Engineering.

You will:
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of an engineering team
• Mentor and grow engineers while keeping them engaged and focused on the Office of Innovation and Technology’s goals
• Enforce clean code and excellent coding practices by conducting thoughtful code reviews
• Develop and implement processes for building better software and teams by encouraging best practices
• Assist in the implementation of applications and systems where necessary by writing high quality code
• Help create a collaborative and inclusive environment where engineers are encouraged to ask questions and work in the open
• Coordinate team vision and roadmap setting with the Director of Software Engineering
• Continuously improve upon your team's process and best practices ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality software
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with key partners from the Digital Services team
• Participate in, and have strong opinions about the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Support and maintain production systems used for critical City workloads

Essential Functions

Management
• Supports and expands a culture that is supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion where employees from all backgrounds can succeed and thrive.
• Coaches employees under their supervision.
• Conducts performance reviews.
• Models best practices.

Operations
• Coordinates the development and implementation of major project timelines where appropriate.
• Follows effective relationship and project management processes in coordination with Digital Services team members and engagement managers at the City
• Analyzes performance of activities within their area and documents resolutions, identifies and remediates problem areas, and devises and delivers solutions to enhance quality of area’s systems and services.
• Unblocks team members from technical issues.
• Sets and monitors SLAs for production systems that the team supports
• Collaborates with City teams providing infrastructure and networking support.

Relationship Building
• Develops and maintains strong partnerships with members of the Digital Services team

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Proven track record managing complex projects.
• Ability to solve complex business problems and develop user/business-driven technology strategies and plans.
• Strong written and oral communication skills (including ability to present ideas in user-friendly, business friendly and technical language) and interpersonal skills with a focus on rapport-building, listening and questioning skills.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities, including ability to anticipate, identify, and solve critical problems.
• Exceptional customer service orientation.

While you won’t necessarily be working with these technologies every day, you should have a broad enough understanding of them to help support your team.
• Understanding of the modern web platform and common architectures
• Server-side programming languages such as .NET Core, Node.js, or PHP
• Content managment systems such as WordPress or Drupal
• Command line and shell scripts
• Web application security concerns and ways to mitigate them
• Git, or similar version control systems
• SQL, and usage of relational databases such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, MSSQL
• Amazon Web Services
• Containers
• Automated test/deployment pipelines
• API design and development

Qualifications

We care more about what you can do than where you learned how to do it. That said, a bachelor’s degree is a good foundation for the work, and job-related experience around the competencies above is acceptable as well. The ideal candidate will have at least five years of supervisory, management, or project management experience.

Additional Information

Salary Not to Exceed: $100,000

Starting salary to be determined based on experience and qualifications.

Important: To apply, candidates must provide a cover letter and a resume.

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:
•    We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
•    Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
•    Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
•    Generous retirement savings options are available
•    Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
•    Enjoy a Free Commute on SEPTA - Starting September 1, 2023, eligible City employees will no longer have to worry about paying for SEPTA public transportation. Whether you're a full-time, part-time, or provisional employee, you can seize the opportunity to sign up for the SEPTA Key Advantage Program and receive free Key cards for free rides on SEPTA buses, trains, trolleys, and regional rails.
•    Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!
Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.